Give Thanks: A 3-Day DevotionalSample

Thankfulness as our Posture – Grateful always

Of all the major offerings in the Hebrew Scriptures there is one Jesus has not yet fulfilled. One that perhaps we are to continue to bring until He returns. Interestingly, there are Jewish writings that teach, that once the Messiah comes, there will only be one offering left for us to bring. The Thank Offering. Thanks-giving… a continual offering… a life of gratitude… a posture of thankfulness… a place to live from…The Way of Life

Hebrews 13:15 tells us to, “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise,” or as they would have also understood it, continually bring a thank offering. Giving thanks is more than a praise song or grace before meals. It is something we continually offering, a posture of thankfulness. Paul exhorts us to, “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” and to, “cultivate thankfulness.”

Thank offerings in the Hebrew Bible were free will offerings and not regulated by time and place, as many of the other offerings were. It meant that giving thanks was the gift that was truly theirs to give, not forced or coerced. So it is with us. We cannot be forced to be grateful. Nor do we have to attain any heights, jump through any hoops or wait for special occasions to offer thanks. It is ours to bring, continually, as we adopt a posture of gratitude. Like the Psalmist, we too discover that a grateful posture is the natural stance of one who simply takes a moment to look up and look around, to all God has done, and more so to who He is. Or as it is put in Hebrews 13, “the fruit of the lips of those who profess His Name.” We are not only thankful for life, but for the Life Giver, and the more we live from a posture of thankfulness, the more we realise we have, to be thankful for… and we find ourselves, as voiced in the song “Give Thanks,” “…saying thank you again and again.”

Perhaps the LORD knew that the best way for us to navigate this life would be to adopt a posture of thankfulness, to live thank full...Giving Thanks. The gift the keeps on giving.

As you go through your day today, be on a treasure hunt for things and people that you are, or can be, thankful for. Maybe set aside some minutes as the day draws to a close, at sundown, to write down one or two things from the day you are grateful for. As we practice giving thanks each day, it soon becomes a constant, a posture, a position from which we can see more clearly and walk more steadily.